Ironing apparatus



y 7, 1966 E. E. FOSTER 3,251,147

IRONING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 J INVENTOR. EDW/N E. FOSTER May 17, 1966 E. E. FOSTER 3,251,147

IRONING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 20, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l b I I NVEN TOR. EDVV/N 5. F05 75/? Q I ,II. III, M1

ATTORNE Y5 1 m 1. w W f If- United States Patent 3,251,147 IRONHNG APPARATUS Edwin E. Foster, Austin, Tern, assignor to Majik-Ironers, Inc, Austin, Tex., a corporation of Texas Filed Jan. 20, 1964, Ser. No. 338,932 Claims. (Cl. 3830) This invention relates to ironing apparatus and more particularly to apparatus of the type in which a hand iron is supported above an ironing board for vertical movement onto the board for ironing.

Apparatus of this general type has heretofore proven quite satisfactory. In some cases, it has been proposed to support the iron supporting linkage from the floor or from mountings on a wall or the like and in other cases it has been proposed to mount iron supporting linkage on the ironing board itself. Mounting on the ironing board has a number of advantages, but also raises problems with respect to the provision of clearance around the board for handling of large pieces to be ironed and storage of the board and iron assembly.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide ironing apparatus in which the supporting and raising and lowering mechanism for the iron supporting linkage is mounted directly on the ironing board in such a manner as to leave both sides of the board substantially unobstructed.

According to a feature'of the invention, the supporting and operating mechanism is mounted adjacent one end of the board, preferably beneath the board, and carries an elongated lifter bracket which extends along one side of the board in spaced relation thereto and on which the iron supporting linkage is mounted.

The lifter bracket is moved vertically by the supporting and operating mechanism to hold the iron elevated above the board or to lower it onto the board for ironing.

Another object is to provide ironing apparatus in which the iron supporting linkage and iron are easily detached from the lifter bracket for storage so that the board itself can easily be folded and stored in the usual manner.

According to a feature of the invention, the linkage and lifter bracket carry complementary electric plug parts so that no external wiring to the iron is necessary.

The above and other objects and features of the invention will be more readily apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an iron and ironing board embodying the invention in stored condition;

FIG. 2 is a partial side elevation of an ironing apparatus embodying the invention;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus with the boards upper surface removed;

FIG. 4 is an end elevation looking from the rear of the board;

FIG. 4A is a partial view similar to FIG. 4 showing the parts in a different position; and

FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 are detail views of the connecter devices.

The iron lifting and supporting apparatus of the present invention may be applied to any conventional type of ironing board, as indicated generally at 10, having legs 11 and 12 hingedly connected thereto for folding fiat against the board in a stored position thereon, as illus- 3,251,147 Patented May 17, 1966 trated in FIG. 1, or extension from the board, as partially illustrated in FIG. 2, to support the board at a desired elevation for ironing. The board may be provided with a folding corner 12 which can be extended to present a fully rectangular ironing surface or which can be folded flat beneath the board, but present a relatively sharp corner for ironing small articles, as more particularly described and claimed in my Patent No. 2,729,005.

The lifting apparatus of the present invention comprises a lifting unit, indicated generally at 13, which is preferably secured beneath the board adjacent to the rear end thereof. This mechanism includes an electric motor 14 which preferably incorporates reduction gearing and which drives a crank pin 15, best seen in FIG. 4. A paral lelogram type linkage is provided having an upper double link 16 extending generally horizontally and having its side link portions connected and braced by a central tubularcross brace 17 for rigidity against weaving. The

link 16 is pivoted at one end adjacent to the motor on on a pivot bar 18 on the ironing board frame structure and is in the form of a bell crank with a downwardly extending arm 19 secured thereto at the pivot bar 18. The parallelogram linkage is completed by a second link 21 which is curved, as seen in FIG. 4, for clearance. The

second link 21 'is pivotally mounted at one end on anaxis 22 on the ironing board frame structure beneath and parallel to the pivot bar 18 for the upper link 16.

The outer end of the link 16 is pivotally connected to a cross tube or bar 23 rotatably mounted on the ironing board frame structure and which forms the central pivot of a bell crank lever having an outwardly projecting arm 24 and a downwardly extending arm 25. The outer end of the lever 21 is pivotally connected to the lower end of the lever 25 to complete the parallelogram link-age so that the arm 24 will be moved vertically without changing its angle to the horizontal as the parallelogram links turn. The arm 24 rigidly carries a supporting bracket26 in the form of an elongated tubular rod which extends parallel to and spaced from one edge of the ironing board.

At its outer end the sup-porting bracket 26 carries a socket for mounting the iron supporting linkage thereon. As best seen in FIG. 7, the socket is in the form of a generally rectangular tube having a gap 28 in one side thereof. In its lower portion the socket carries an electrical connector block 29 which preferably provides for four electrical connections, as best seen in FIG. 3. The motor 13 may be supplied with power through a cord from any convenient source and an extension of the cord,

' as shown at 3-1, may extend through the supporting bracket 26 to the socket 29 to provide heating current for the iron and control circuits for the motor 14, as described hereinafter.

The supporting bracket is adapted to carry an iron supporting linkage which comprises a main arm 32 and a forearm 33 hingedly connected at an elbow. This linkage may be constructed, as more particularly described and claimed in my Patent Nos. 2,834,568 and 2,648,146 so that the free end of the forearm 33 will be guided for movement in a plane parallel to the upper surface of the ironing board 10. The lower end of the main arm 32 is pivotally connected at 35 to a rod 36 which is rotatably supported in vertical spaced bearing parts 37 carried by a plug member 38. The rod 36 can turn about a vertical axis in the bearing 37 so that the iron supporting lin-kage can be swung to any desired angle and by movement of the linkage the iron can be moved to any desired position over the ironing board. The plug member 38 is shaped to fit into the socket 27 and is provided with prongs 39 to fit into the electrical socket 29 to complete the desired wiring connections. As seen in FIG. 4, the electrical cable 41 may extend from the socket 38 into the main arm 32 and through the main arm and forearm to pass outside of the forearm adjacent to the free end thereof, as seen in FIG. 2.

An iron, as shown at 42, which may be a conventional dry or steam iron, is supported from the free end of the forearm 33. For this purpose a bracket 43 is secured to the iron and is connected to the free end of the forearm 33 thorugh a ball and socket joint which will permit complete flexibility of movement of the iron. The iron is of conventional construction, but is provided with an electric switch operated by a lever 44 lying above the handle of the iron so that each time the iron handle is grasped the switch will be operated. The lever 44 and the switch operated thereby may be as disclosed in my Patent Nos. 2,939,229, 2,939,230 and 3,137,953.

The motor 14 is controlled through the switch on the iron and through a cam operated switch operated by the motor with the circuit being identical to that more particularly disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 3,137,953. The crank pin 15 driven by the motor is connected through a connecting rod to the free end of the bell crank arm 19 so that as the motor turns the parallelogram linkage will be swung to raise and lower the supporting bracket 26. As shown, the connecting rod is in the form of a coiled compression spring 45 which may be of the type more particularly disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. Re. 23,974 connected at one end to crank pin 15 and at its other end to the lower end of arm 19. Normally this spring will transmit movement of the crank pin v15 to the bell crank arm 19 to swing the linkage, but will yield in the event any excessive forces are encountered to prevent damage to the mechanism. A similar spring 46 is preferably connected between the lower end of the bell crank arm 19 and a fixed point on the frame of the actuating mechanism at least partially to counterbalance the weight of the parallelogram linkage, support bracket, iron supporting linkage and iron.

For storage the iron and iron supporting linkage may be removed from the ironing board and supporting bracket by pulling the plug 38 out of the socket 27. The iron and its supporting linkage may then conveniently be stored by hanging the linkage on a hook or the like and the ironing board can be folded to its normal stored position and stored in the usual manner, as indicated in FIG. 1. For use, the board is set up in the usual way and-the plug 3 8 is inserted in the socket 27 to support the arm from the supporting bracket and to complete the electrical connections to the iron heating circuit and to the switch 44. With the usual power cord leading to the motor 14 connected to a source of electric current, the apparatus is readyfor use.

In the normal condition with the iron and switch lever 44 released the motor 14 will turn to the position shown in FIG. 4 wherein the parallelogram linkage formed by links 16 and 21 is swung counterclockwise to raise the bracket 24, the supporting bracket 26 and the iron supporting linkage and iron so that the iron will be held in a position spaced above the upper surface of the ironing board. At this time, material to be ironed can be placed on the board, the iron being freely swingable out of the way during this operation and the supporting bracket 26 providing clearance at the side of the board so that large pieces can be hung over the board freely. To iron a piece on the ironing board the handle of the iron is grasped in the usual manner thereby actuating the switch lever 44 to move the switch operated thereby to one position and energizing the motor 14 to turn the crank pin 15 through 180. At this time, the motor will be stopped by opening of a switch operated by a motor driven cam as fully disclosed in my Patent No. 3,137,953 and the parallelogram linkage will have been swung clock- Wise to move the supporting bracket 26 thereby lowering the iron onto the ironing board with its full weight being effective for ironing. Upon completion of the ironing or at any time during ironing when the handle of the iron is released, the switch lever 44 will be actuated by a spring to move the switch operated thereby to a second position to again energize the motor 14 to again elevate the iron above the board. The controls for the motor 14 are as fully disclosed in my Patent No. 3,137,953 to which reference is made for a more detailed description of the motor'operation.

While one embodiment of the invention has been shown and described in detail, it 'will be understood that this is illustrative .only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Ironing apparatus comprising an elongated ironing board, an elongated rigid lifter bracket extending adjacent and substantially parallel to one side of the board in spaced relation thereto from one end of the board to a point centrally of the length thereof, lifting mechanism mounted on the board adjacent to one end thereof and supporting one end of the lifter bracket, an iron supporting linkage carried by the other end of the lifter bracket to support an iron for movement parallel to the board, and means in the lifting mechanism to move the lifter bracket vertically thereby to raise an iron carried by the linkage above the board or to-lower it onto the board.

2. Ironing apparatus comprising an elongated ironing board, an elongated rigid lifter bracket extending adjacent and substantially parallel to one side of the board in spaced relation thereto from one end of the board to a point centrally of the length thereof, lifting mechanism mounted on the board adjacent to one end thereof and supporting one end of the lifter bracket, the lifting mechanism including an electric motor operable to raise and lower the lifter bracket, an iron supporting linkage detaohably mounted on the other end of the lifter bracket, an iron carried by the supporting linkage for movement parallel to the board, and switches for controlling the motor carried by the iron for manual operation and by the lifting mechanism for operation by the motor to control raising and lowering of the lifter bracket, the detachable mounting for the supporting linkage on the lifter bracket including separable electric plug means to connect the switch on the iron to the motor and to supply heating current to the iron.

3. Ironing apparatus comprising a housing adapted to be mounted on an ironing board, a parallelogram linkage pivoted at one end on the housing and extending generally horizontally therefrom, an elongated lifter bracket rigidly carried by the free end of the linkage and adapted to be generally parallel to and spaced from the edge of an ironing board on which the housing is mounted, means on the lifter bracket to carry an iron supporting linkage, an electric motor carried-by the housing, and a connection'from the motor to the linkage to raise and lower the lifter bracket as the motor operates.

4. Ironing apparatus comprising an elongated ironing board, 'a housing mounted adjacent to one end of the board, a parallelogram linkage pivoted at one end on the housing and extending laterally therefrom to terminate at its other end adjacent to one side of the board, an elongated lifter bracket rigidly carried by said other end of the linkage and lying substantially parallel to and spaced from said one side of the board with one end thereof terminating centrally of the length of the board, a motor in the housing, an operative connection from the motor to the linkage to raise and lower the lifter bracket, a mounting device carried by said one end of the lifter bracket, a linkage support detachably mount- 5. The ironing apparatus of claim 4 which further 5 comprises control means for the motor including a switch on the iron and in which the mounting device and linkage support carry complementary electrical plug parts to conmeet the switch to the mot-or.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,209,194 7/1940 Deutsch 38-20 2,939,229 6/ 1960 Foster 38-30 FRA NK J. COHEN, Primary Examiner.

JORDAN FRANKLIN, Examiner. G. V. LARKIN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IRONING APPARATUS COMPRISING AN ELONGATED IRONING BOARD, AN ELONGATED RIDIG LIFTER BRACKET EXTENDING ADJACENT AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO ONE SIDE OF THE BOARD IN SPACED RELATION THERETO FROM ONE END OF THE BOARD TO A POINT CENTRALLY OF THE LENGTH THEREOF, LIFTING MECHANISM MOUNTED ON THE BOARD ADJACENT TO ONE END THEREOF AND SUPPORTING ONE END OF THE LIFTER BRACKET, AN IRON SUPPORTING LINKAGE CARRIED BY THE OTHER END OF THE LIFTER BRACKET TO SUPPORT AN IRON FOR MOVEMENT PARALLEL TO THE BOARD, AND MEANS IN THE LIFTING MECHANISM TO MOVE THE LIFTER BRACKET VERTICALLY THEREBY TO RAISE AN IRON CARRIED BY THE LINKAGE ABOVE THE BOARD OR TO LOWER IT ONTO THE BOARD. 